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Tuesday, June 21, 2016

The TMI 'Fest — and an Anniversary!

The blog is turning 5!

Back on June 1st, 2011, when the first post went up on Quiet Laughter, I had no clue what blogging was, or how the blogging world would shape my life. And me. It's been a magical discovery... And to celebrate I'm joining Debbie D. Doglady's bloghop, The TMI 'Fest. Originally started on Facebook (yep, I answered there, too), the TMI—Too Much Information—Questionnaire has now been brought over into the blogosphere. Join the fun—if you dare! Sign up, before July 13th, in the linky at Debbie's blog (or at the end of this post).

This is me, from A to Z

A: Age

43 (1973)

B: Biggest fear

Being unable to protect my dogs from harm. (As in someone breaking into the house to rob us and hurting the dogs.)

C: Current time

1:27 pm (Took me some time to complete this post, as you can see...)

D: Drink you last had

E: Every day starts with

"Today I'm going to write all day. No, seriously."

F: Favourite Song

Pfffff... Impossible choice. 'Bittersweet Symphony' (The Verve), maybe. 'Wish You Were Here', or pretty much anything by Pink Floyd. 'Solsbury Hill' (Peter Gabriel) is my go-to for feel-good. And lately, because I've been on an R.E.M. kick, there's Leaving New York.

G: Ghosts, are they real?

No. (If you mean in the supernatural, scary-apparition sense.)

H: Hometown

Cuernavaca (Mexico)

I: In love with

Life

J: Jealous of?

K: Killed someone?

I hope not.

L: Last time you cried?

Pfffff... I tear up easily. Animal rescue videos, stories of kindness, father-oriented poetry... All of those (and more) will make me shed a tear or two. But cry-cry, as in heaving-sobs-cry? The last time I was in Cuernavaca, paging through my dad's high school yearbook. My dad died in 1992 and, although the loss never gets easier, in the near-quarter-century since I've learned to live with it. Every now and then, though, it'll sneak in a surprisingly incisive sting. This wasn't the first time I pored over that yearbook, but all of a sudden it hit me: all these stories of his high school days that I'd never hear, all these names and scribbled autographs—he was a popular kid, my dad—that I'd never be able to ask him about, an entire chapter of his life that I'll only know in the sketchiest way.

M: Middle name

No middle name. Which is fairly uncommon in Mexico, especially since my name, being a product of my dad's creative mind, isn't in the list of "Christian" names. Then again, both my parents were atheists, so having a church-endorsed moniker for their child was probably not high on their list of priorities.

N: Number of siblings

None. (Also pretty weird for a Mexican family.)

O: One wish

To set up and run an animal sanctuary.

P: Person you last called?

Q: Question you're always asked

"How did you end up in Curaçao?"

R: Reason to smile

Too many to list. But they usually have something to do with dogs.

S: Sounds that annoy you

The Haitian handyman at the apartment complex next door has this habit of singing while he works. The same song, over and over. Not even the whole song but just a piece of it (or maybe it's a very short song). Over and over. A cheery, sort of childish, kind of tune. It annoys the hell out of me. And yes, I realize how petty this is.

T: Time you woke up

Eek. Today? Around 10, I think. I stayed up way too late last night watching movies. Black Sea, to be exact. (It was good.)

U: Underwear colour

I actually need to check, haha. Okay, black. (I did warn you this was a TMI 'fest, didn't I?)

V: Vacation destination

As in favorite? Or as in bucket list? Favorite so far I'd say Perú. Most visited would be either Holland or Mexico (for obvious reasons). Highest on the bucket list would be South Asia.

W: Worst habit

People-pleasing.

X: X-Rays you've had

I don't think I've had any. Maybe teeth, back when I was a kid and orthodontists were all the rage.

Z: Zodiac sign

29 comments
:

Hi Guilie - Happy Blog Birthday - 5 years is a good time ... and it is fun isn't it. Great fun reading your TMI list .. love the idea of your Mexican dish .. just the kind of thing I'd love. Cheers and here's to many more writing days - Hilary

Thank you, Birgit! Yes, all too young... Mine was 56, and although back then it seemed really really old to me (I was 19—and a pretty dumb 19 at that), it still felt too young. Oh, please do join! It would be so much fun to read your answers to these, Birgit! And thanks for coming by to read mine... Glad you enjoyed ;) Looking forward to yours!

Happy 5th Blogiversary, Guilie! :) I don't think any of us realized what we were getting into. Ain't it grand? ;) It was you who inspired me to start the blogfest. Thanks for participating! Nice to know that we have many things in common, like staying up late. I hope your friends here do join in. The more, the merrier. Cheers!

Haha... Indeed, Debbie! Blogging has been an amazing boon, and I have a hard time understanding what took me so long to jump in :D So glad you turned the TMI thing into a hop; I've had a blast reading people's answers so far, and look forward to more. Thanks for coming by!

Good to see you back! Missed you in the last round of BOTB. I did this exercise on my memoir blog for the entire month of April for A to Z. It's a nifty way to get to know more about bloggers. I to am an Aquarius. I visited Cuernavaca back in 1985, but I don't remember much of it as it was part of a whirlwind bus tour when I visited Mexico City.

Lee, how cool that you did this for the A2Z! I missed too many blogs last April... Almost three months later and I'm still catching up :( And you're an Aquarius! I knew we had more in common than met the eye ;) It's funny to think of you in Cuernavaca in 1985... I was there, of course, and we could've crossed paths. Wouldn't that be awesome? Not that either of us would remember, haha... But still :)

Happy Anniversary!I love this blog hop and I've was considering joining it the day I saw it on Debbie's Blog but now I'm in for sure. I'll post on Monday the 27th. I love most of the questions, that one about underwear, really odd! :)It's fun, though, learning more about folks sort of cements the feeling of friendship. I love that especially!

Absolutely right, Yolanda! These Q&A hops are great for bringing us closer to each other, even though we've never met (and chances are we never will)... I love that about the blogosphere :) And I'm THRILLED you're joining in! Can't wait to read your answers :)

Hi Guilie! Happy 5th blogoversary! :)This blog hop sure was fun! I enjoyed reading your answers and it gave me an opportunity to know a little bit about you. You start your day with such an optimistic and productive thought... I love it! And I loved that dog picture in this post. Happy blogging! :)- Chicky @ www.mysteriouskaddu.com

Happy blogoversary! My own blog also turned five this year, back in March, though I'd had an ever-expanding website on Angelfire for almost 10 years before that.

Running an animal sanctuary is an awesome wish. If I had an animal sanctuary, I'd probably get too attached to the animals to want to release them back into the wild or give them to adoptive parents. It takes a really strong person to do that kind of work and constantly say goodbye to animals one has grown to know and love.

Hey Guilie! Been too long! I've cut down on blogging so that may explain it! I could listen to 'Bittersweet Symphony' all day long. I even included it in one of my romances. And congrats on 5 years! May the next 5 be even more exciting! :-)

:D This is SO much fun, Guilie! I will probably do this today! And congratulations on the blog anniversary! I am so very glad we connected! My 13th is staring me in the face (July 9) and it is quite exciting to look back.

Loved your answers. Hugs! Checking the color eh? I still play that game with a classmate on Facebook! Love YOU!